And Liberty and Justice for all...

Those are the words of our Pledge of Allegiance. Those are the heart of America, just as her soul is reflected in the phrase "One Nation, Under God". We rely on the fact that the people around us who are reciting that pledge with us do so with the same ideals in mind.
For me, those ideals include the notion that we are all equal under the law.

Today, I have seen a confirmation that my fellow citizens do indeed believe, as do I, that justice should be applied equally to all American citizens, and also that our government, at it's highest levels has gone terribly astray.

Today, DOJ employee Christopher Coates has responded to a subpoena, against the orders of his employers at the DOJ, to testify before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about the equal enforcement of the law. He invoked whistle blower protections to do so.

As proud as I am to see this fellow American stand up to the DOJ,(that's Department of Justice for those who are wondering) I am still appalled that it was necessary. PJTV has posted Mr. Coates testimony. This is something that every citizen of our nation needs to know, regardless of your political or even your ideological views.

The actions of the Department of Justice in this matter are incomprehensible to me. I remind myself that we are all just human beings and everyone makes mistakes, but I am sorely disappointed in these folks nonetheless. The spirit of America has been betrayed by the very folks trusted with upholding it and trust, once lost is not easily restored.

I plan to read Mr. Coates' testimony on Wednesday's show.

"He shall cover thee with his feathers, and under his wings shalt thou trust: his truth shall be thy shield and buckler." ~ Psalm 91:4

Political Pistachio: Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Lady Gaga and the Democrats

Borrowing from a friend's blog, because I just couldn't say it any better.

Political Pistachio: Don't Ask, Don't Tell - Lady Gaga and the Democrats:

"In those rules created by Congress are the limitations regarding who can, and cannot, serve in the armed forces. The determinations are based on what the military, and Congress, believes to be what most benefits the discipline and battle readiness of the military. Limits on height, weight, physical abilities, family status, and a whole host of other things, are all in place to make sure that our fighting men and women are the best of the best. In response, should potential service members that are denied the opportunity to serve for being too tall, or too fat, or unable to pass the fitness tests, or are single parents sue the government because their 'Constitutional Right to serve' was denied? Should married service members who are denied nuclear submarine duty demand that the military not deny them the right to serve aboard a sub?

The answer is obvious. These people are denied for reasons that include what is best for our military. They don't have a right to serve any more than does homosexuals.

What is best for the armed forces is the issue at hand, not what is best for the individual."


Please read the entire post. It's worth your time.

For my part, I applaud those of a patriotic spirit with physical/mental disabilities or chronic illnesses, those who simply don't meet the height or weight requirements and those who may be too individualistic to pass the psych evaluation who don't attempt to put their personal agenda over the lives of their fellow Americans by insisting that they , too should be allowed to serve. They also serve who sit and wait.

"Greater love hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." ~ John 15:13

Reid seeks to move 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal legislation - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room

"Reid seeks to move 'don't ask, don't tell' repeal legislation - The Hill's Blog Briefing Room
by Roxana Tiron

Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) intends to bring the 2011 defense authorization bill to the floor next week.
The defense bill contains critical military policy as well as a provision that would repeal the ban on openly gay people serving in the military. Reid was scheduled to meet with Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell (Ky.) on Monday afternoon to discuss his plans.

Gay rights groups view September as a critical month in the Senate for the fate of the defense authorization bill and the provision to repeal “Don't ask, don't tell.” Any action delayed until after the Nov. 2 elections could diminish the chances of repeal for the Clinton-era law.

They applauded Reid's decision to move to the bill.

“We applaud the Senate Majority Leader's courage and his statement tonight to bring the defense bill to the floor. Now, we must deliver,” said Aubrey Sarvis, Army veteran and executive director for Servicemembers Legal Defense Network, an organization dedicated to repealing the ban. “Repeal proponents may well need 60 votes in the Senate to get to this important debate in September. We are now in the final stretch and we must prevail."

It’s unclear if Republicans will agree to consider the defense bill given the inclusion of the don't ask, don't tell repeal and other controversial provisions. Reid will need 60 votes, including at least one Republican, to move the legislation to the floor.

So far, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) the top Republican on the Senate Armed Services Committee, has opposed bringing up the defense bill and threatened a filibuster. McCain opposes several parts of the bill, including the repeal of “Don't ask, don't tell” and a provision allowing abortions to be performed in military hospitals as long as they are not paid for with federal money. "


I generally don't post other people's work to my blog, but this is an important issue which seems to be flying under the radar. I have to ask myself, if they are so certain that it won't be approved after the elections, is it something Congress should be voting on now?

If it were truly for the good of the nation, couldn't it stand up to the results of the Dept. of Defense study regarding the implementation of such a huge change in policy? (It is ironically fitting that a bill which has the potential to do so much damage to our military and our nation includes provisions for forcing military doctors to kill unborn American citizens.) Mr. McCain, whom I view as a RINO in most other things, seems to be serving his country's best interests here.

"And he said unto them, Let the LORD be so with you, as I will let you go, and your little ones: look to it; for evil is before you. " ~Exodus 10:10

Thoughts on a Freedom Rally

I attended a Freedom Rally on Saturday. It was organized by the same folks who have organized two TEA parties and a Constitution rally in this area in the past few years. These are hard working folks who have a sincere wish to re-visit the America of our founding fathers. They were able to obtain the cooperation of some big name speakers -Dick Morris, Herman Cain and Bob Basso as Thomas Paine. The rally was well done, and well attended, by -once again cheerful, well behaved citizens who picked up after themselves.

And yet I found myself to be a bit disturbed. The message of the rally was clearly "vote and vote republican". There were observations by Mr. Dick Morris that we had cleaned the republicans house-and it had needed cleaning. There were specific candidates endorsed by different speakers-all republican.

Maybe I'm just a perfectionist, but I prefer the message to vote based on character and values-not party.

There is video of most of the speakers on YouTube posted under the user name CEMF100. I ran out of memory before Mr. Cain spoke so I will include a photo of him here in lieu of video there. I did appreciate his remarks. If I find that someone else has posted his speech, I will make a link here.

I also feel the need to apologize to Mrs. Hansen, whose speech I only got a smidgen of, and not the best parts at that due to battery issues and the call of nature. She was advocating for an organization that is working towards making sure that the ballots of our military men and women get counted. She noted that her son's ballot for the last presidential election was never counted. This is shameful. It needs to be remedied yesterday. Please check out the site that I linked to on Mrs. Hansen's video and here -the Military Vote Project.

"And the LORD God said unto the woman, What is this that thou hast done? And the woman said, The serpent beguiled me, and I did eat. "~ Gen 3:13